best phd art history programs

2024 Best Art History Doctor's Degree Schools

Choosing a great art history school for your doctor's degree, a great overall school, other factors we consider, more ways to rank art history schools, best schools for doctorate students to study art history in the united states, 10 top schools for a doctorate in art history, art history by region.

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Best associate degrees in art history, best master's degrees in art history, best bachelor's degrees in art history, best overall in art history, rankings in majors related to art history, most popular related majors.

Notes and References

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MA or PhD in Art History

The graduate Art History programs at UT, comprising the MA in Art History and the PhD in Art History, are among the nation’s largest and most distinguished, with nearly twenty full-time faculty members who are leading scholars in their fields and represent a diversity of critical and methodological outlooks. Students in Art History are regularly honored with prestigious awards and fellowships, and alumni from this program lead successful careers at colleges, universities, and museums worldwide.

The programs’ expansive scope comprises courses covering a wide range of periods and cultures of art, while areas of special concentration are represented by several active research centers. Interdisciplinary study and collaboration play a vital role in the program. Additionally, research is enhanced by access to the many resources available across campus including the Blanton Museum of Art, one of the country’s leading university art museums; the university’s notable library system; and cultural archives such as the Harry Ransom Center.

Eligibility

Applicants to the Master of Arts Program are expected to have completed a broad range of undergraduate coursework in art history (18 hours in art history are recommended) and related fields. MA students will be required to demonstrate proficiency in reading/translating one contemporary language other than English prior to beginning the fourth semester in residence.

Program Tracks

Four MA tracks are offered:

• General (allows students to cover diverse historical areas of art history)
• Ancient (Western and Non-Western)
• Medieval to Early Modern

Program of Work — General Track

Program of Work — Specialized Track

Specialized tracks.

Example Program Plan

Language Requirement

MA students must have reading/translation competence in at least one modern language in addition to English. The additional language will be relevant to the student’s areas of study and will allow the student to understand the scholarship of their field. The language will be determined in consultation with the Graduate Adviser and the choice is subject to ratification by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The choice of language is flexible but must be decided in consultation with one’s advisor/committee chair or the Graduate Adviser if an advisor has not yet been selected. Language courses cannot count toward fulfillment of the requirement for six hours of coursework taken outside the department (supporting work or Minor).

The language exam requirement must be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

• 4 semesters of college-level language courses passed at grade B or above. Advanced placement credit can count towards the required number of courses.
• Departmental exam to test translation proficiency in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese (and other languages as petitioned by students) administered 3 times each year (beginning and end of fall semester, and once during spring semester). Exams are graded by at least 2 faculty members. Language exams will be administered to students who wish take it in a given semester. The exam proceeds simultaneously, in a single location and time that works for all. This requirement can be fulfilled in one of the following ways, and must be satisfied by the end of the third long semester in residence.
• To compensate for the exceptional difficulty involved, students who plan on qualifying in a language other than the traditional European languages may be allowed to do so. Permission may be granted after consultation with the Graduate Adviser and after petitioning the faculty to substitute an instructional course in that language in place of a supporting (i.e. out-of-department) course.

Thesis Colloquium

During the semester of enrollment in Thesis research (ARH 698A, 3 hours), usually in the third semester of residence and after the completion of 18 hours of coursework, the student presents a topic for faculty approval in a Thesis Colloquium. Enrollment in ARH 698B Thesis (3 hours) may take place only after an approved presentation.

• In the first year, no later than the end of the Spring semester, the student will contact an Art History faculty member about supervising the thesis and initiate a discussion about possible topics.
• Students are encouraged to interview faculty in their area of specialization in order to find a faculty supervisor/committee chair. Students and supervisors must be in alignment to accommodate their professional goals. Failing to find a supervisor will result in termination from the program.
• The wise Art History Master’s student will take advantage of the summer following the first year to develop and research a topic or possible topics with the goal of being ready to schedule the colloquium in the early part of the Fall semester.
• If the colloquium is not held, a grade of Incomplete is assigned; a final grade will be assigned when the colloquium is held during the next long semester.

Refer to the handbook for details regarding the processes involved with submitting the final thesis and applying for graduation.

Program Handbook

Applicants to the Doctoral Program must have an MA in art history or an MA in a related field with substantial coursework in art history at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Applicants completing the second year of a Master’s program are also eligible to apply.

Program of Work

The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires at least thirty hours of coursework beyond the MA degree. Course requirements include:

• A minimum of five graduate seminars in at least two of the department’s chronological groupings of western and non-western art: Ancient; Medieval to Early Modern; and Modern
• Nine hours of supporting work, normally consisting of two graduate seminars outside the Department of Art and Art History in areas related to the major field, and one graduate reading course outside the Department of Art and Art History often taken in the context of preparation for the qualifying examination. All of these courses must be taken for a letter grade.
• A minimum of six hours of dissertation research and writing

Further requirements include reading/translation competence in at least two contemporary languages in addition to English, a dissertation colloquium, written and oral qualifying examinations that admit the student to doctoral candidacy, the dissertation, and the oral defense of the dissertation. PhD students who are employed as Teaching Assistants must enroll for one term in ARH 398T Supervised Teaching in Art History , a pedagogy seminar that meets one hour per week. This course does not count toward completion of the degree.

Doctoral students must have reading/translation competence in at least 2 modern languages in addition to English. These languages will be relevant to students’ areas of study and will allow individuals to undertake primary research and understand the scholarship of their chosen field.

Language courses cannot count toward fulfillment of the requirement for 9 hours of coursework taken outside the department (supporting work or minor). Each language requirement can be fulfilled in one of the following ways, and must be satisfied before advancing to doctoral candidacy:

• Four semesters of college-level language courses passed at grade B or above. Advanced Placement credit can count towards the required number of courses.
• Departmental exam to test translation proficiency in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese (and other languages as petitioned by students) administered twice per semester. Exams are graded by at least two faculty members. Language exams will be administered to students who wish take it in a given semester. The exam proceeds simultaneously, in a single location and time that works for all. The choice of language is flexible but must be decided in consultation with one’s adviser.
• Confirmation of completion of a modern language requirement from the student’s Master’s program.

To compensate for the exceptional difficulty involved, students who plan on qualifying in a language other than the traditional European languages may be allowed, after consultation with the graduate advisor and after petitioning the faculty, to substitute an instructional course in that language in place of a supporting (i.e. out-of-department) course.

Dissertation Colloquium

The Colloquium is intended to be an informal conversation with the faculty concerning the topic, its feasibility, and potential pitfalls that might affect the student’s ability to complete it successfully.

The Dissertation Colloquium is held during the third or fourth term of the student’s residence and after the completion of at least 18 hours of coursework. A week before the scheduled Dissertation Colloquium, the student presents to the Graduate Adviser for Art History and the faculty a written prospectus, prepared with the help of the dissertation adviser.

The topics for the qualifying examination are also set at the Colloquium, and the examining committee is determined. At this time, the composition of the dissertation committee is also discussed. The student must complete the Qualifying Examination by the end of the next long semester following the Colloquium.

Qualifying Examination

The student will be examined in four areas: at least two broad areas of expertise and one or two focused areas with the possibility of one area being directed by a faculty member outside the Department. All of these exams will be written and must be completed within a one-week period. In consultation with each faculty member on their examination committee, students will schedule three-hour time periods during which they will take the written exams.

At least two weeks before the examination, the student will confirm with the Graduate Coordinator the date and time of each examination and the name and email address of any examiner not on the Art History faculty. The student will determine the order of the questions. The Graduate Coordinator will solicit questions from each examiner.

Within several days of the completion of the last written examination, a two-hour oral examination on the same topics will follow with the entire examining committee. During this exam the examining committee will question the student about the exam questions. To schedule the oral examination, please use the same process used for scheduling the Colloquium. The student's performance on these exams will be ranked "Pass" or "Failure." For additional details and procedures, please refer to the Graduate Handbook.

Once the student has completed all program requirements and passed the qualifying exams, the committee supervising the dissertation is formalized in the doctoral candidacy application process.

Learn more about completing the Application for Doctoral Candidacy →

• After admission to Candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must stay in continuous enrollment in dissertation hours each spring and fall until the degree is completed.
• Students doing research abroad while in doctoral candidacy may be eligible for Independent Study and Research status.

Example Topics

Below are examples of past qualifying examinations topics. Please note that these can include both general subjects and topics related to a particular student’s dissertation research:

Medieval Art

• Northern Renaissance Art
• French Court Culture and Patronage (possibly an outside the Department question)
• Fourteenth-Century Manuscript Illumination

Modern/Contemporary European Art

• European Art, 1890–1945
• Art of the United States, 1945–1985
• Art and Philosophy of Language (Examiner: Art History Dept.)
• Little Magazines and Literary Modernism (Examiner: English Dept.)

Dissertation

The dissertation must make an original contribution to scholarship. It normally requires fieldwork of at least a year’s duration. The Dissertation Committee directs the student during the completion of the dissertation. Defense of the dissertation (Final Oral Examination) before at least four members of the Dissertation Committee is a University requirement; the dissertation supervisor must be physically present for the defense to take place.

Learn more about submitting the request for the Final Oral Examination →

Refer to the handbook for details regarding the processes involved with submitting the final draft, defending, and applying for graduation.

• Current Graduate Students

Funding resources at the MA level, such as scholarships and in-state tuition waivers, are limited and awarded on a case-by-case basis. Each semester, MA students may apply for positions as a Grader for a large introductory/survey or upper-division class. Once assigned to grade for a course, the Grader must attend all lectures and grade all exams and assignments for the course. The number of Grader positions varies each year, and the salary is based on the number of students in the class. A few MA students also may be awarded Teaching Assistant positions, when these are available, again on a case-by-case basis.

The faculty’s goal is to support all admitted PhD students with a combination of Teaching Assistantships, Assistant Instructor positions, Graduate Research Assistant positions and scholarship funds so they can earn their degree with as little outside cost as possible.

A limited number of Graduate Research Assistant positions may be available each semester to both MA and PhD students.

All applicants are considered for financial support; it is not necessary to apply or request separately.

FAQ Visit Apply

Program Contacts

Rowan Howe Graduate Program Coordinator

Dr. Nassos Papalexandrou   Graduate Advisor

Department of the History of Art

• Financial Support
• PhD Requirements
• Graduate Courses
• Graduate Teaching and Museum Opportunities

The graduate program is designed to give students working toward the PhD degree an encompassing knowledge of the history of art and a deep understanding of the theories and approaches pertaining to art historical research. The program emphasizes collaborative working relationships among students and faculty in seminars. Each PhD student benefits from supervision by a primary adviser in their field of study, while continuing to work closely with other department faculty. Students will routinely avail themselves of faculty expertise in other departments, dependent on their area of study.

The program also fosters a close familiarity with the outstanding art in the Baltimore–Washington area relevant to the student’s area of study. In addition to the rich holdings of the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University (which include collections of rare books at the Garrett Library, Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, and the George Peabody Library) graduate students have access to world-renowned collections and research facilities in Washington D.C.

Our recent PhD students have gone on to academic, administrative, and museum positions at institutions around the world including Aarhus University, American University of Paris, Arcadia University, Baylor University, Columbia University, DePaul University, Florida State University, Howard University, King’s College London, Marshall University, National Museum of Denmark, Notre Dame University of Maryland, Oberlin College, Portland State University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, University of San Francisco, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Wellesley College. 

• University of Pennsylvania
• School of Arts and Sciences
• Penn Calendar

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The doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania provides students with broad training in the history of art and its critical approaches, yet also focused training in their selected fields.  Students completing the Ph.D. are well prepared for teaching positions at the university and college level and for curatorial positions in museums and galleries.  Faculty work closely with Ph.D. students to outline an appropriate course of study and mentor students while preparing them for assistantships, curatorial internships, and other career orientations.

Admission to the program is by application to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, which administers full fellowship packages to all admitted students.  (See the "Admissions" page on this site.)  Both B.A. and M.A. students are eligible to apply.  Students normally pursue coursework over their first three years and, once admitted to Ph.D. candidacy (following their area exams), devote their time thereafter to dissertation research and writing.  Students entering the program with an M.A. may chose to accelerate their coursework at Penn to gain candidacy to the Ph.D. more quickly.

Students generally take three seminars in each semester; some of that coursework includes also pedagogical instruction when the student serves as a Teaching Assistant. To ensure a broad understanding of art's history, the Department asks students to take three seminars focusing on periods prior to 1750 and three after.

Further details regarding the graduate program may be found in the  Graduate Bulletin .

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• Graduate Programs

General Information

The PhD program in the Division of Art History prepares graduates for university-level teaching, curator positions at major museums, and independent research in the field. Before beginning work for the PhD, students should have completed a master's degree in art history. Requirements for the degree include 60 credits of coursework beyond the master's degree and research capability in at least two foreign languages.

Preparation

Applicants to the PhD program must have a master's degree in art history or a related field combined with course work in art history. Applicants need not have an undergraduate major in art history but should have a solid record of art history course work. In our program we define a “solid record” for our undergraduate majors as 55 quarter credits of art history classes distributed among major fields of study offered in our department. This figure should serve only as a general reference point, however; we do not expect all applicants to have exactly the same background and course distribution as our undergraduate majors. Studio art classes and work experience in art-related fields can enhance your application but, in most cases, will not substitute for a good background in art history course work.

Financial Support

Each year the Division of Art History offers two fully funded five-year PhD packages, which are typically comprised of a combination of fellowship support and teaching assistantships.

Information about other financial support opportunities can be found under Graduate Support .

More about the Art History PhD

• Degree Requirements
• Dissertation
• Links to Graduate Showcase websites

PhD Art History Admission

The Department welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

University Application Materials

The application for admission as well as general information about applying is available from the Graduate Admissions website; please visit  Graduate Admissions  to apply. Prior to applying you must first determine if you are eligible -  application eligibility (undergraduate degree requirements) . International applicants, please also see  Bechtel International Center  and Graduate Admissions  International Applicants  for more information and any additional application requirements. Prospective students may apply beginning in late September (please verify the precise date on the  Graduate Admissions  website). The following documents are required by the university and can not be waived; please click on the links for more detailed information about each:

Letters of Recommendation : Three letters of recommendation are required. The department does not accept applicant recommendation via a letter service (i.e. Interfolio or other service). It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that letters are submitted to the electronic application by the published deadline. Please only submit three letters.

Transcripts : Upload a scanned copy of your official transcript(s) with the online application. Applicants must upload transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended as a full-time student and for at least one academic year. Transcripts from current degree programs also need to be submitted.

Statement of Purpose : You must indicate in the first sentence of your SOP the name of the program to which you are applying and the area you wish to study (e.g. PhD in Art History – Modern). The Statement of Purpose should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. Applicants can include and mention faculty members, with overlapping research interests whom they would like to work with and why, in their statement of purpose. The Statement of Purpose must be: 1,000 words or less; single-spaced; formatted with 1-inch margins and 12-point, Times New Roman font.

Application Fee : The application fee $125, is non-refundable, and must be received by the application deadline (fee waivers are available to eligible students. Please see  Graduate Fee Waivers  for more information). The Department does not offer fee waivers outside of the process at the Graduate Fee Waivers page. Please do not contact the department requesting to waive the application fee.

GRE Scores: Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test is no longer required for admission to the Department of Art & Art History.

TOEFL Scores : Required when first language is not English; IELTS is not accepted. Please note that the department can NOT waive the TOEFL requirement. If you wish to submit a request for TOEFL waiver, please see  GRE and TOEFL Requirements . It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the scores are submitted to the electronic application by the published deadline.  (Note: To bypass the entry of TOEFL scores in the application, enter a future test date. You can add in the additional information section of the application that you have received a waiver from Graduate Admissions.)

Online Application

* Please note all application materials, once submitted as part of your application, become the property of Stanford University. Materials will not be returned and copies will not be provided for applicants nor released to other institutions. Please keep a copy for your records. Re-applicants must submit new supporting documents and complete the online graduate application.

Writing Sample Requirement

In addition to the University application materials listed above, applicants in Art History are required to submit a writing sample.  You should upload your writing sample along with your online application (only one writing sample will be accepted). It should be 20 pages maximum, including illustrations and bibliography – neither papers over this limit nor entire Master’s theses will be accepted.

Start Your Application

For admission in Autumn Quarter of the next academic year, all required application materials, including your test scores and recommendation letters, must be received on-line by no later than  December 1 at 9:00 pm (PT).

Note: The Graduate Admissions period opens in late September each year for applications to be submitted by the published deadline in December (for matriculation beginning in the following academic year). After April 15th each year, the Graduate Admissions period is closed, and the online application will reopen during the following September.

Selection Process

Application review takes place between mid-February and mid-March; applicants are notified by e-mail of their status around March 15th. Accepted students are admitted for the following Autumn Quarter; no applicants for mid-year entrance will be considered.  You will be contacted via e-mail regarding your application status after the deadline; please do not contact the Department in this regard. Applicants who are chosen as finalists for admissions are asked to make themselves available for an individual interview by faculty via Skype.  Admitted prospective students are invited for a campus visit intended to introduce them to faculty, current graduate students, and to members of the larger Stanford community involved in the arts.  Library, museum and other facilities are part of this introduction to the PhD program in Art History at Stanford.

The Art and Art History Department recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences  students who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about  KHS admission .

Department of Art History

The doctoral program in art history typically involves two years of coursework, the completion of a qualifying paper, preliminary exams in three fields, a dissertation prospectus, and a dissertation. Following their coursework, students also learn to teach by serving as a teaching assistant for faculty-taught undergraduate courses and taking the department’s teaching colloquium. After advancing to ABD status, students research and write their dissertation, usually combining time in Chicago with traveling abroad.

Course Requirements

In general terms, the doctoral program requires two years of full time coursework. Students typically enroll in three courses each quarter during their first two years, and courses are selected with the guidance of the student’s doctoral advisor and in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies in the department.

All students take the Proseminar and the COSI Objects & Materials seminar in the Autumn and Winter Quarters, respectively, of their first year. Among the other 18 courses required for the doctoral degree are two courses each for distribution requirements and for the student’s minor field. The qualifying paper, completed by the end of Winter Quarter of the second year, is researched and written within the framework of two Qualifying Paper Reading Courses typically supervised by the doctoral advisor and/or another faculty member. Finally, students enroll in a Preliminary Exam Directed Reading Course in the Spring Quarter of their second year.

All students must demonstrate competency in languages determined by their chosen field. Depending on the language and level, up to three language courses may be counted toward the total number of courses required for the degree.

Given the department's strong history of and continuing commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry and intellectual formation, the doctoral program allows for as many as 8 of the total 18 courses required for the PhD to be taken outside the Department of Art History.

In their third year, students are required to take the Teaching Colloquium and Dissertation Proposal Workshop offered yearly by an art history faculty member. These courses do not count toward the 18 courses required for the PhD. Students also prepare for and take their preliminary exams, and typically hold their first teaching assignments in their third year.

Upon successful completion of all coursework requirements, the qualifying paper, the relevant language requirements, and the preliminary exams, each student prepares a dissertation proposal that must be approved by three committee members. Upon that approval and an administrative review of the student's file, the student formally advances to the status of “PhD Candidate” and “ABD” status.

In subsequent years, students research and write the dissertation while further developing their teaching skills (in keeping with the doctoral program’s teaching requirement). Following the submission and successful defense of the dissertation, the doctoral degree is conferred. The current expectation, in general terms, is that completion of the PhD in Art History requires approximately seven years, but time to degree will vary: some students may graduate in less than seven years, others may find they need an additional year.

While all doctoral students must fulfill the requirements sketched above, the different fields of art historical study that are represented in the Department of Art History each have their own particular scholarly requirements. With the aim of providing graduate students with the most rigorous formation in their chosen area of specialization, the department has made various structural provisions to ensure that students can receive the additional training required by their chosen field (including additional language study, training in specialized research skills, and curatorial formation). As these scholarly requirements vary from field to field, so too—within limits set by the Department of Art History and the Division of the Humanities—the pace of each student’s progress through the doctoral program will necessarily be shaped by the requirements of his/her chosen area of study, in consultation with the art history faculty.

Students should refer to the Graduate Student Handbook   for details on all requirements.

Joint and Dual PhDs

Select students may pursue joint PhD degrees with art history and another department or program. Joint PhD programs at the University of Chicago are of two types, "standing" and "ad hoc."

A standing joint degree program has been established between Art History (ARTH) and the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS). It allows students to complement their doctoral studies in Art History with a program of study in TAPS that reflects their particular training and interests, encompassing both academic and artistic work. Students apply to this standing program at the time of their application to the University, which is submitted to the art history department.

Students may petition for an ad-hoc joint PhD with another department or program according to guidelines set by the Humanities Division . Generally, admitted students must separately meet the requirements of both programs, but any overlapping requirement need only be met once if each department would otherwise consider it met were that student not in the joint degree program. Recent art history students have completed joint PhDs with Cinema and Media Studies and with Social Thought.

Under a new initiative , some students may simultaneously pursue PhD studies at the University of Chicago and at a degree-granting institution of higher learning in France, leading to two PhD degrees – one from each of the two institutions. Students approved for this initiative pursue a specific course of study depending on their research and professional interests, must satisfy all the requirements of both doctoral programs, and must write and defend a single dissertation that meets the requirements for each degree.

Master of Arts Program in Humanities

Masters-level study in Art History is offered through the  Master of Arts Program in Humanities . Sstudents build their own curriculum with graduate-level courses in any humanities department (including in the Department of Art History) and complete a thesis with a University of Chicago faculty advisor. Typically a one-year program, some students pursue the “Two Year Language Option” or TLO to pursue additional foreign language study. 

Fully Funded PhD Programs in Art History

As part of my series on  How to Fully Fund Your PhD , I provide a list of universities that offer fully funded PhD programs in Art History. Through a PhD in Art History, you could work as an Art Director, Writers and Author, Postsecondary Art Teacher, curator, and many more.

Fully funded PhD programs provide a funding package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the three to the six-year duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Funding is typically offered in exchange for graduate teaching and research work that is complementary to your studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their doctoral students, which is why I recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential Ph.D. programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.

You can also find several external fellowships in the  ProFellow Database  for graduate and doctoral study, as well as dissertation research, fieldwork, language study, and summer work experience.

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines? Get your copy of our FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards !

PhD Programs in Art History Offering Full Funding

University of california, los angeles.

(Los Angeles, CA): The UCLA Department of Art History offers four and five-year funding packages to selected incoming students that consist of a combination of fellowships and Teaching Assistantships (currently $28,000 per year plus registration fees/tuition).

The University of Chicago

(Chicago, IL): The annual stipend for art history Ph.D. students is $32,000 over 12 months. Students also receive full tuition and health insurance premium coverage. Funding is granted to students in good academic standing for the duration of the program. Art history Ph.D. students typically serve as teaching assistants. Research and conference travel grants are available at various stages.

Columbia University

(New York, NY): All admitted students receive full funding, including tuition and stipend. Standard fellowships are for five years and involve teaching or other types of department service during at least three of the five years. Students are very often successful in obtaining further support from competitive fellowships offered by Columbia and other competitions.

Florida State University

(Tallahassee, FL): Doctoral applicants are automatically considered for teaching assistantships with full tuition waivers for a minimum of three years. Applicants may also be nominated by the department for prestigious University fellowships offered each year to a select number of incoming graduate students with outstanding scholastic records.

The Graduate Center, CUNY

(New York, NY): Nine students are admitted per year to the Ph.D. Program in Art History. Of these, seven will be awarded Graduate Center Fellowships (GCFs) and two will be awarded tuition-only Fellowships. The GCFs are a five-year package of $26,128 per year (including healthcare).

University of Minnesota

(Minneapolis, MN): All accepted students are guaranteed five years of funding through a combination of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships. Assistantships provide an annual stipend, a full-tuition scholarship, and health insurance. Students who win external fellowships are allowed to save a year of their UMN funding for a sixth year.

Northwestern University

(Evanston, IL): The Graduate Program in Art History offers a full-time Ph.D. and the Department provides its Ph.D. students with full financial aid for five years as well as travel grants for conference presentations and archival research.

The University of Texas at Austin

(Austin, Texas): The faculty’s goal is to support all admitted Ph.D. students with a combination of Teaching Assistantships, Assistant Instructor positions, Graduate Research Assistant positions, and scholarship funds so they can earn their degree with as little outside cost as possible.

Tulane University

(New Orleans, LA): Students in the Ph.D. program are fully funded. The student may wish to seek additional funding from other sources to support graduate study, research travel, and hosting visiting lecturers.

Washington University in St.Louis

(Saint Louis, MO): Students accepted into the Ph.D. program who remain in good standing are guaranteed six years of full funding in the form of University Fellowships, with an annual stipend of $28,152 (2021-22) and full tuition remission. Advanced Ph.D. students may also offer summer courses through University College to gain valuable independent teaching experience.

Need some tips for the application process? See my article  How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors .

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top ten PhD programs in art history according to you....

By qwer7890 December 4, 2013 in Art History

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since the published rankings are basically useless for art history -- and much ranking is based on "reputation" anyways... I thought it might be useful to do an informal, crowdsourced gradcafe ranking... 

please do include any commentary/caveats/useful info on specialization, etc... 

i'll start: yale,uchicago, berkeley, harvard, princeton, IFA, northwestern, stanford, michigan, cuny

i'm most tuned in to modern/contemporary, so i'd say my list reflects that bias.

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December 10, 2013

Because I’m forever curious about how our field works – and because I’m avoiding a bit of real work – I pulled together a few lists of programs’ placement rates for:   Pre-Doc Fellowships, 2010-2014

March 11, 2016

I don't think that's what anonymousbequest is saying at all. There is nothing undesirable about the job in question. What has changed is that a job that might have gone to a University of Kansas PhD a

December 13, 2013

Wow, thanks for doing this research.  A few remarks.   NYU obviously has an "in" with the Met and that is why many people go there, so the fact they placed 22 in the Met internship is not very surpr

There is a reasonably acceptable list:  http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=5204

However that's from 2011, and there have been shake-ups since. Nemerov and soon Joselit aren't/won't be at Yale, so depending on who comes in, there will be some movement. Darby English left Chicago for Williams, but Chicago in general has made some big hires. The rest of your list seems acceptable, but I'm not sure I'd agree with Stanford's inclusion.

Much of the "ranking" business goes by the reputation, not by the actual quality.

Ideally, the candidates should be judged by their work, not by the reputation of their schools/departments, but we have to suffer this illogical system of ranking the quality of candidates by the reputation of their schools/departments.

MIT deserves a mention here in my opinion. It's a small program, but they have an absolutely stellar placement record. 

Because I’m forever curious about how our field works – and because I’m avoiding a bit of real work – I pulled together a few lists of programs’ placement rates for:

Pre-Doc Fellowships, 2010-2014: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlLRiFPXoh9HdF9LUEs3QlFUOVVzclFKNUxxWmhuSXc&usp=sharing

Assistant Professor jobs, 2006-2013 (very narrowly defined; see below): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlLRiFPXoh9HdDRtWkdRbmVPY0tWY0NtbkJfZFJhYXc&usp=sharing

Take-away point (TL;DR): These lists should NOT to be taken as the last or definitive word on anything, but rather, as springboards for further additions, reflections, and conversation. If anything, I hope they reinforce the points made by many others (above and in other threads) of the impossibility of ranking programs objectively, at least based on the metrics set out here.

Thoughts on methodologies of gathering info:

• Pre-Doc fellowships : This list seemed fairly straightforward, although it certainly reflects the areas I know best. I tried to include fellowships with multiple recipients per year (the Frick doesn’t fit into this category, but it was mentioned in a list in another thread); and so much the better if they cut across multiple sub-fields (CASVA, the Met, etc.). What fellowships have I overlooked?
• Assistant Prof. jobs : This list seems much more problematic to me, although it certainly does show interesting trends. I tried to follow the methodology laid out by the Art History Newsletter (AHN; http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=476 and http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=483 ) – surveying the top 25 schools from the US News and World Report lists for both national research universities and small liberal arts colleges. The job market being what it is right now, I expanded their categories slightly to include not just the top rankings in each category, but also schools with particularly strong art history departments or university museums. I surveyed about 75 schools in all, but obviously, this is the biggest issue with this (quite incomplete) survey – without looking at a far bigger sample size, I don’t think it’s truly possible to draw any definitive conclusions about placement rates.

Another problem with this list is the types of jobs it includes. Following the structure of the AHN survey, I looked at only tenure-track assistant professors at each school. While this makes comparisons between the two surveys possible, I don’t think it reflects the realities of today’s job market (vs. the job market in 2007, when the AHN list was compiled). The limitation to just TT assistant profs means that, even though it’s become standard practice to spend a few years as a visiting assistant professor (non-TT) or on a post-doc fellowship, these positions aren’t included on the list.

Further caveats:

• I’m absolutely certain that art historians who have earned their PhDs from Indiana, Maryland, OSU, Penn State, WashU, and Case Western since 2006 are out there doing fantastic work, despite what this list says. They just happen not to be working at the places I researched.
• These job numbers represent only a fraction of all possible jobs that are held by PhD graduates. Among those are many curators, many professors who earned tenure more quickly, and many scholars who teach at places not surveyed. (If the data for recent curatorial hires were easily available, I certainly would have included that info too!)

I’m refraining from putting forth conclusions from this data, given its significant limitations (although I’ve realized, in doing this, how very many issues I have with the methodology set up by the AHN list…). But even taking these issues into account, I hope that the lists might generate some productive and interesting discussion. Thoughts? Reactions? Comments?

And apologies, of course, for enabling anyone’s procrastination!

• Giverny , abitstartled , hj2012 and 5 others

Wow, thanks for doing this research.  A few remarks.

NYU obviously has an "in" with the Met and that is why many people go there, so the fact they placed 22 in the Met internship is not very surprising. Also, the number of NYU PhDs per year is not 22, and a lot of people go to NYU to become curators, not professors. So NYU's placement rate for professorships is actually much better than it looks on the spreadsheet, probably similar to Columbia's.

Berkeley's placement rate will be lower in the future because many top profs retired, such as TJ Clark and Anne Wagner. It's still a good PhD program but not what it was like 10-15 years ago.

BU is a pretty good school but its placement rate seems a bit high on the spreadsheet.

Please delete SCAD from your list of "good" placements, because it really isn't.

Overall results are not surprising. The same 5 programs that have been the "top" programs for the past 50 years (Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Princeton, Yale) are still there at the top, with the same 5 programs that have always been just behind them (Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, Penn, Michigan) still right there behind them.

The lesson is that if you want to be a professor, go to one of those 10 programs (which one is a personal choice depending on your field, $$, so on), or possibly MIT for modern architecture, or else don't go at all.

Maybe the list is different for curators and someone can crunch the numbers for that???

• Atlantis , Giverny , condivi and 1 other

Wow, thanks for doing this research.  A few remarks.   NYU obviously has an "in" with the Met and that is why many people go there, so the fact they placed 22 in the Met internship is not very surprising. Also, the number of NYU PhDs per year is not 22, and a lot of people go to NYU to become curators, not professors. So NYU's placement rate for professorships is actually much better than it looks on the spreadsheet, probably similar to Columbia's.   Berkeley's placement rate will be lower in the future because many top profs retired, such as TJ Clark and Anne Wagner. It's still a good PhD program but not what it was like 10-15 years ago.   BU is a pretty good school but its placement rate seems a bit high on the spreadsheet.   Please delete SCAD from your list of "good" placements, because it really isn't.     Overall results are not surprising. The same 5 programs that have been the "top" programs for the past 50 years (Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Princeton, Yale) are still there at the top, with the same 5 programs that have always been just behind them (Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, Penn, Michigan) still right there behind them.   The lesson is that if you want to be a professor, go to one of those 10 programs (which one is a personal choice depending on your field, $$, so on), or possibly MIT for modern architecture, or else don't go at all.   Maybe the list is different for curators and someone can crunch the numbers for that???

Yes, exactly.

And when you become a Selection Committee member later in life, change this system, so that brilliant candidates from other schools get their fair due and the mediocre ones from these so-called Top 10 are weaned out and don't get placed just because they have a gold-plated degree.

Of course, there are good candidates coming out of the top-10 too, who should get placed.

• Eggleston and Atlantis

In terms of MIT placements you can add a second for Berkeley (they have recent PhDs in Art History and Rhetoric). They also have someone at Concordia University in Montreal:  http://art-history.concordia.ca/people/faculty/pezolet_nicola.php.  On that not, though I understand sticking with American schools in terms of Assistant Prof jobs, I'd take a look at Canadian schools at well. UBC has recent PhDs from Columbia and Rochester, McGill has two from the University of Chicago and one from Harvard, and Toronto has one from Harvard, one from Brown, and one from Columbia. 

Poliscar -- my apologies for overlooking Canadian schools! Certainly no offense was intended towards our fabulous northern neighbors, but just lack of thoughtfulness. I've added your list to the spreadsheet. Can you think of anything else it's missing? I also removed SCAD from the listings (while I'm hoping this list includes more than just the "top" jobs, I do certainly realize that it has its issues).

I also agree that the NYU number seemed high, so I went back to the ProQuest/UMI dissertation database (the source of these numbers) to double-check. And yes, according to this source, they indeed did issue a total of 174 doctorates from 2006-2013, or an average of 22 per year. A few specific examples: in 2013, they issued 20; in 2012, they issued 26. And I agree that if the numbers of curatorial jobs were included, this figure would look very different. But so would most other ratios on this list. 

I wonder what the most efficient way to gather info on assistant curators would be. Anyone have an active AAMC membership and the time/interest?

Ah sorry I think my initial post was confusing—I meant to say that MIT has placed two PhDs at Berkeley, and one at Concordia.  In terms of other schools in Canada, Queen's has an Assistant Prof from Chicago, UWO has one from SUNY-Binghampton, Alberta has one from Ohio State and one from UC-Santa Cruz (History of Consciousness). 

I'll keep looking, but most of the other universities in Canada are fairly minor. 

Some shameless self-promotion: While Darby English has left Chicago for Williams, the department is recruiting a replacement this year. It is also hiring a new contemporary Latin American scholar. The university has also hired contemporary art curators and practitioners in other places on campus, such as Jacob Proctor from the Aspen Contemporary Museum of Art, and Monika Szewczyk from the Witte de With, both of whom are offering classes too. The department should therefore go into next year as a very interesting candidate for people considering graduate school, in particular in the modern and contemporary field. 

• neongolden and manierata

Out of curiosity then, is the North American Art Since 1945 search the replacement search for Darby English, or is that an additional search? They're not trying to hire a tenured replacement outside of an open search are they?

anonymousbequest

Chicago's loss is Williamstown's gain with Darby for sure; however, his position at the Clark is not as faculty. I guess Rochester just lost a point on the google doc. A couple of other things to note, a) I'm not sure what your methodology is excatly, but you have missed a few appointments & fellowships that I know about in my small-ish field, so I'm guessing there are others b ) the school list for placements is narrow. Mid-tier state schools should probably also be taken into account, they are about as desirable as LACs where the teaching load is the same and no grad students, although well-endowed LACs may pay a bit more.

Curatorial placements are not taken into account for the NRC or any other ranking, which is a shame and I think helps skew the data toward the ossified top 10.  I did an rough experiment with an NRC top 20, UCSB, which has a 5% placement rate for assistant profs accordng to this thread. In museums though, grads from past decade seem to have mid or senior level curatorial appointments at Stanford, UT Austin, Williams, RISD, Getty, SLAM, O'Keeffe Museum, Huntington Library, and Peabody Essex. College museum curators often teach undergraduate and graduate courses, but I don't know how you would put that kind of variable into the algorithm. Yale and the Institute might have similar curatorial placements.

This thread has been useful but also divisive of the typical esprit de corps I have experienced on grad cafe. By all means, it's great (& wise) to encourage people to go to schools with full funding but we are all chasing dreams here and rationality has sometimes little to do with it. So not sure how helpful it is to create a have/have nots as I think has been implied. There are a lot of variables, and yes I do think it would be harder for the students at Missouri-Columbia to compete with those at Harvard but there are a lot of mid-size and small publics and private colleges in Missouri and the region, so those grads might do just fine if you expand your definition of successful placements past Ivies and Little Ivies.

• dealpickles

Chicago's loss is Williamstown's gain with Darby for sure; however, his position at the Clark is not as faculty. I guess Rochester just lost a point on the google doc. A couple of other things to note, a) I'm not sure what your methodology is excatly, but you have missed a few appointments & fellowships that I know about in my small-ish field, so I'm guessing there are others b ) the school list for placements is narrow. Mid-tier state schools should probably also be taken into account, they are about as desirable as LACs where the teaching load is the same and no grad students, although well-endowed LACs may pay a bit more.   Curatorial placements are not taken into account for the NRC or any other ranking, which is a shame and I think helps skew the data toward the ossified top 10.  I did an rough experiment with an NRC top 20, UCSB, which has a 5% placement rate for assistant profs accordng to this thread. In museums though, grads from past decade seem to have mid or senior level curatorial appointments at Stanford, UT Austin, Williams, RISD, Getty, SLAM, O'Keeffe Museum, Huntington Library, and Peabody Essex. College museum curators often teach undergraduate and graduate courses, but I don't know how you would put that kind of variable into the algorithm. Yale and the Institute might have similar curatorial placements.   This thread has been useful but also divisive of the typical esprit de corps I have experienced on grad cafe. By all means, it's great (& wise) to encourage people to go to schools with full funding but we are all chasing dreams here and rationality has sometimes little to do with it. So not sure how helpful it is to create a have/have nots as I think has been implied. There are a lot of variables, and yes I do think it would be harder for the students at Missouri-Columbia to compete with those at Harvard but there are a lot of mid-size and small publics and private colleges in Missouri and the region, so those grads might do just fine if you expand your definition of successful placements past Ivies and Little Ivies.

Just a small thing: I think Darby English is teaching courses at Williams (though maybe I'm wrong). He seems to be doing one next semester (and his assistant at the Clark's research program has done one this past semester.) His predecessor, Michael Ann Holly also had taught the required methods course for the last few years, so there seems to be a precedent. Either way, I think that Williams students have easy access to him.

Poliscar: No confusion in your initial post -- my fault entirely (too early and too little coffee when I made my first update). Thanks for the clarification, and for catching my mistake! I've corrected it now.

anonymousbequest: I agree with your points entirely, and really had hoped that these lists would demonstrate the range of possibilities that you describe. That they don't is more indicative of the methods used to collect them, I think. For an explanation of that methodology, see above/below. And in terms of the limited number of schools included (and the many I know I've missed) -- well, time plays a factor there. If people would like to continue adding to these lists, I'd be happy to make the spreadsheets editable to all. As I had also noted that the fellowship list is skewed towards my own subfield (despite my best attempts otherwise), I'd love to hear about those I missed!

Take-away point (TL;DR): These lists should NOT to be taken as the last or definitive word on anything, but rather, as springboards for further additions, reflections, and conversation. If anything, I hope they reinforce the points made by many others (above and in other threads) of the impossibility of ranking programs objectively, at least based on the metrics set out here.   Thoughts on methodologies of gathering info: Pre-Doc fellowships : This list seemed fairly straightforward, although it certainly reflects the areas I know best. I tried to include fellowships with multiple recipients per year (the Frick doesn’t fit into this category, but it was mentioned in a list in another thread); and so much the better if they cut across multiple sub-fields (CASVA, the Met, etc.). What fellowships have I overlooked? Assistant Prof. jobs : This list seems much more problematic to me, although it certainly does show interesting trends. I tried to follow the methodology laid out by the Art History Newsletter (AHN; http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=476 and http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=483 ) – surveying the top 25 schools from the US News and World Report lists for both national research universities and small liberal arts colleges. The job market being what it is right now, I expanded their categories slightly to include not just the top rankings in each category, but also schools with particularly strong art history departments or university museums. I surveyed about 75 schools in all, but obviously, this is the biggest issue with this (quite incomplete) survey – without looking at a far bigger sample size, I don’t think it’s truly possible to draw any definitive conclusions about placement rates. Another problem with this list is the types of jobs it includes. Following the structure of the AHN survey, I looked at only tenure-track assistant professors at each school. While this makes comparisons between the two surveys possible, I don’t think it reflects the realities of today’s job market (vs. the job market in 2007, when the AHN list was compiled). The limitation to just TT assistant profs means that, even though it’s become standard practice to spend a few years as a visiting assistant professor (non-TT) or on a post-doc fellowship, these positions aren’t included on the list.   Further caveats: I’m absolutely certain that art historians who have earned their PhDs from Indiana, Maryland, OSU, Penn State, WashU, and Case Western since 2006 are out there doing fantastic work, despite what this list says. They just happen not to be working at the places I researched. These job numbers represent only a fraction of all possible jobs that are held by PhD graduates. Among those are many curators, many professors who earned tenure more quickly, and many scholars who teach at places not surveyed. (If the data for recent curatorial hires were easily available, I certainly would have included that info too!)

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that Darby English wouldn't teach or advise students at Williams. He is just a convienent example of how ranking programs by TT assistant prof appointments isn't inclusive ennough to get a real picture. In the NRC-type ranking system, Rochester couldn't count him in their employment rate anymore as they could when he was at Chicago as faculty.

From the graduate program's website it seems like the teaching is done by regular Williams faculty plus Clark, Williams College Museum, and MassMOCA curators and administrators, post-docs, and visiting fellows.  Some of these people have degrees from Harvard, the Institute, and Penn while others have MAs (from Williams) or PhDs from Rutgers, Rochester, or the aforementioned UCSB.  So how to classify them?  What about curatorial appointments at leading museums? Is becoming an assistant curator at the Met or Getty really lesser than getting a TT job at eastern podunck state? I don't know if I have a better answer for tracking, but the Williams example suggests that success in the academy (or academic-museum hybrid) is more complex than simply a TT job at HYP.

• ArtHistoryandMuseum
• 1 year later...

There is a reasonably acceptable list:  http://arthistorynewsletter.com/blog/?p=5204   However that's from 2011, and there have been shake-ups since. Nemerov and soon Joselit aren't/won't be at Yale, so depending on who comes in, there will be some movement. Darby English left Chicago for Williams, but Chicago in general has made some big hires. The rest of your list seems acceptable, but I'm not sure I'd agree with Stanford's inclusion.

I'd kind of like to update this thread... especially since decision time will be upon us pretty soon.

I am also a Modern/Contemporary person and would argue that this field has been reshuffled in recent years and months.

Just for example:

David Joselit has moved from Yale to CUNY.

Stanford has hired Richard Meyer and Alexander Nemerov.

Even without the obvious transitions, some younger scholars who would not have been huge names in 2011 seem to be making a mark. Think of Huey Copeland and Hannah Feldman at Northwestern, for example.

Also, it seems that there might be some shaking up on the top end in the coming years, with much of the older OCTOBER guard approaching an age that some would consider to be retirement-appropraite... like Rosalind Krauss at Columbia, Benjamin Buchloh at Harvard and Douglas Crimp at Rochester.

• GhostsBeforeBreakfast

It will be an interesting next 10 years as program reputations change drastically depending upon retirements.  Berkeley saw a huge hit with retirements as well as UPenn in the last decade.  Will Berkeley really ever be the same place without T.J Clark?  IFA, Columbia, among others may see a change in environment as well.  I would not be surprised to see some programs like USC, Duke, Wisconsin, or Northwestern begin to give a place like IFA or Chapel Hill some rivalry in the next decade.  

Dear artlover26,

I'd love to hear specifics about the changes you foresee... also and perhaps in areas other than Modern and Contemporary. Who knows, maybe there's a thing or two I can learn by hearing about some up-and-coming academics.

I know that Columbia is very strong in the Modern/Contemporary Department even without people like Krauss. They have Branden Joseph, Alexander Alberro and also Kellie Jones and Noam Elcott. They also recently gained Avinoam Shalem from Munich in the Islamic Art Department, which I hear is a huge boost.

Ok, good experiment. What happened to their programs when Panofsky, Schapiro, Novak, Alpers, Nochlin, and Prown retired? Still in the top tier?

Oh please, go find a "rating" list for art history programs that was more recent than 2010.  Nochlin and Alpers still had influence (and if I am right, Nochlin retired post-2010).  This is to not even mention severe budget cuts.  I got admitted to Berkeley plus another 10-20 school.   I am pretty sure I will be going to the 10-20 because the funding package is almost triple the amount.  I say if you want a "real ranking" based off the 2010 list, go to phds.org and rerank them in terms of job placement.  Fine U Chicago is at about 75%.  Then comes the acceptable - Berkeley 60%, Yale 63%, Penn 67%.  Then the downright ugly and embarrassing - IFA/ NYU - 43%, Columbia 54%.  

Exactly. The "big five" programs will always remain at the top overall. There the movement is mostly tied to specific fields: which particular one(s) is/are at the momement better or worse for 20th century or Renaissance or Chinese or what have you.

IMHO there have been some actual changes in quality in the next 5-10 programs. For example, Berkeley definitely pales to what it was 10-15 years ago, UCLA is also weaker, but Chicago is stronger overall and Stanford seems to be on an upward trajectory. But whether or not this matters in terms of placement is debatable. I suspect Berkeley will still place well enough on its famous name, solid training, and good incoming students, at least for another decade or so. The real change is the tier below that, at places like CUNY, Indiana, Rutgers, Bryn Mawr, BU, Delaware, or Santa Barbara. A generation ago they had stronger faculties and used to place decently enough (often quite well in certain subfields), but now even their very best students working with high profile scholars are extremely lucky to get any tenure line job anywhere.

So to whoever asked: no, the rankings haven't really changed. Which PARTICULAR program of the top 10 is right for you might be different now than it was before (Prof. X is now at Y instead of Z, Prof. A retired from B and wasn't replaced, so forth), but the list of top programs is basically set in stone, at least for Western art. As someone has already pointed out, non-Western fields work a bit differently, possibly because there's still new hiring going on in those areas, esp. for contemporary.

• condivi , Burr and Atlantis

kinderbueno90

As someone has already pointed out, non-Western fields work a bit differently, possibly because there's still new hiring going on in those areas, esp. for contemporary.

Can anyone offer insight into the rankings for Asian art--East Asian art to be specific? Thanks.

This is a useful topic for the applicants, they are getting a taste for just how internecine it all is. The Clark Art Institute had a conference on Art History and Emergency last year, and that's really what I think we are talking around. The discipline is in crisis, not as in the 80s or 90s a methodological crisis, but a crisis for relevancy and leadership. The greats are gone, their heir apparents are not doing a great job at placements. I do think that many of the 10-20 are still good bets, but there has been movement. BU and Bryn Mawr are two venerable programs that have fallen far, but I'd put Santa Barbara and UNC over Michigan and maybe Stanford right now. Rutgers, Maryland, and CUNY are still safeties but are what you make of them. 

There are a lot of profs in their 30s and 40s who replaced people like Prown and Nochlin. The discipline is in flux. It'll take time for us to sort them all out. Right now in one subfield a younger Harvard prof, with tenure and 10 years there, has not placed a single advisee into a TT job. It's grim out there. 

• Burr , neongolden and Atlantis

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The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University was established in 1987 as a training ground for professional theater. A two-year, graduate-level program, the Institute was created with an understanding that students can best prepare for a life in the performing arts by immersing themselves in the work of a professional theater, and by studying with faculty who are practicing theater artists.

Over the past three decades, graduates of the Institute have become leaders in the arts. Graduates of the acting program have performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at theaters around the country, while also appearing in feature films and as series regulars on numerous television shows. Graduates of the dramaturgy program serve as dramaturgs, literary managers, theater critics, and artistic directors in this country and abroad. Graduates of the voice pedagogy program teach at top American universities.

In 1998, the Institute formed a historic partnership with the Moscow Art Theater School. The birthplace of the Stanislavsky System and the artistic home of the playwright Anton Chekhov, the Moscow Art Theater (MXAT) is one of Europe’s leading companies. The partnership with MXAT has given Institute students the opportunity to train with leading Russian actors, directors, choreographers, historians, and critics, and to be immersed in one of Europe’s most vibrant theater capitals.

At this time, the Institute is on hiatus in order to explore new models of training and is currently not accepting students.

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Graduates of the A.R.T. Institute have entered their respective industries with a far-reaching intellectual curiosity, a diligent sense of professionalism, and an extensive set of practical skills. Having garnered experience from their training abroad, their coursework stateside, and their collaboration alongside industry professionals, students have left the Institute prepared for the wide variety of work in today’s American and international theater.

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The 25 best drama schools in the world.

With multiple schools going tuition free, there’s never been a better time to pursue a degree in the performing arts. Here are the top programs recommended by industry insiders and educators.

By Caitlin Huston

Caitlin Huston

Business Writer

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“Tuition-free” is becoming the new buzzword, as several of the world’s top drama schools plan to adopt that policy starting this fall, including the graduate programs at Juilliard and USC.

Related Stories

The 15 top global film schools, l.a. and new york film schools that fly under the radar.

In addition to broadening access to more diverse candidates and wanting to stay competitive with recruitment, the push to go tuition-free at USC was spurred on by the writers and actors strikes. “Just knowing how volatile the industry is for these creatives, it’s extremely important that they not be saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt,” says Emily Roxworthy, dean of the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

THR consulted with members of the industry and educators to determine its ranking of the best schools for an acting degree, with factors including overall training, cost, alumni success and more. Tuition, when applicable, is listed on an annualized basis and does not include housing and other fees, unless otherwise indicated.

1. The Juilliard School

New York City

2. Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut

The David Geffen School of Drama, a top grad program, remains extremely popular among students since it went tuition-free in 2021, with many also receiving need-based living stipends of up to $20,000. With the increased influx of applications, and just 16 students accepted per year for the three-year program, the school became even more selective, says dean James Bundy. “There’s terrific talent coming into the pool,” he says. Ninety-three percent of students who are accepted enroll at the school, pointing to its demand, according to Bundy. Faculty include Ron Van Lieu — who got a shout-out from former student Da’Vine Joy Randolph when she accepted her Academy Award in March — and Christopher Bayes, a leader in clown work and commedia. In addition to training Meryl Streep, Angela Bassett, Brian Tyree Henry and more, the program was also home to Randolph’s Holdovers co-star Paul Giamatti, as well as Juliana Canfield and Tom Pecinka, both lauded this year for their roles in Stereophonic .

3. University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

4. Carnegie Mellon

In the school’s strong undergraduate program, both acting and music theater students take the same core curriculum before moving into more specialized training, including classes on the business side of the profession, with the goal of preparing students for work in film, television, theater and more. Its illustrious alumni include Judith Light, Zachary Quinto and Matt Bomer, and several who have seen success on Broadway in the past year, with acting Tony recognition for Leslie Odom Jr. ( Purlie Victorious ) and Sarah Pidgeon and Will Brill (both in Stereophonic ). Tuition for the undergraduate program is just under $65,000.

5. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

6. london academy of music and dramatic art.

While it’s the oldest drama school in the British Isles, founded in 1861, LAMDA has continued innovating. It hired Philippa Strandberg-Long, a leading teacher of the Meisner Technique, as its director of actor training and drama school, and is offering virtual production technology acting and technical training to students in new, fully equipped studios. On the school’s long list of storied alumni are Brian Cox, David Oyelowo and Benedict Cumberbatch, who leads the school’s board of trustees, with recent alum Amber Grappy, who graduated in 2022, appearing on the Netflix series One Day . Tuition for international students in the three-year undergraduate acting program is just under $30,000, with the cost of the two-year grad acting program close to $31,000.

7. New York University

8. guildhall.

Guildhall has educated actors including Daniel Craig, Ewan McGregor, Michaela Coel and Lily James in its three-year undergraduate conservatory acting program, which accepts 28 students a year. The school places an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration with students in the music and production arts programs, with support to create their own performance projects, and will introduce a B.A. degree in performance design starting in September 2025. The school recently saw the departure of Patsy Rodenburg, a longtime faculty member specializing in text, poetry and voice, and its new hires include noted opera singer Sarah Tynan as head of vocal arts. Tuition for international students is about $31,000.

9. UC San Diego

10. the old globe and usd.

Led by actor, director and choreographer Jesse Perez, the two-year MFA program has a focus on Shakespeare and a partnership with the professional Old Globe Theatre. Seven students a year are accepted to the program, which is tuition-free and includes a monthly stipend. Perez continues to work to broaden the school’s traditional classical training with a focus on diversity and courses on Suzuki training, clowning, physical comedy and more. “It’s my sixth year as the director of the program, and I’m finally starting to see the changes stick,” Perez says. Nathan Crocker, who previously worked at Rutgers University and NYU, was recently hired as the new head of voice and speech and will start in fall 2024.

Los Angeles

New hires within UCLA’s Department of Theater include Michelle Liu Carriger as theater chair and Judith Moreland ( Bosch ) as head of acting. The school’s graduate acting program was on pause last year and will be paused for the upcoming academic year (though graduate directing, playwriting and design programs are ongoing), as faculty continues to review and update the curriculum. The BFA program remains in operation, with recent alumni including Fernando Carsa ( Acapulco ) and Ava Lalezarzadeh ( Before ). In-state costs, which include housing and food, are $42,127 for undergrads living on campus and a bit more than $76,000 for out-of-state residents.

12. University of Southern California

USC’s School of Dramatic Arts has a new home base, with the recently opened Dramatic Arts Building, and big news: Its MFA program will be tuition-free starting in the fall. The school, which also offers a BFA program, benefits from both proximity and a connection to Hollywood, with the majority of faculty continuing to work in the industry, including Alexandra Billings ( Transparent ), Bayo Akinfemi ( Bob Hearts Abishola ) and Finola Hughes ( Blossom ), and many celebrity guest speakers, with Broadway actor MaryAnn Hu newly hired as director of the school’s musical theater program. Tuition for the undergraduate program is $69,904.

13. National Institute of Dramatic Art

Kensington, Australia

The drama conservatory has produced such stellar alumni as Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann and Sarah Snook. The three-year undergraduate drama conservatory has been led by John Bashford, former associate principal at LAMDA, since 2016. The school recently hired alum Travis Cardona as head of First Nations (referring to Indigenous Australians), and has worked with him to implement First Nations story­telling and practices within the curriculum. The annual tuition for the BFA is about $23,000 for international students.

14. University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

15. Brown/Trinity Rep

Providence, Rhode Island

Long seen by the industry as one of the premier drama schools, the Ivy League program typically accepts 12 students a year into its tuition-free drama grad program, which is affiliated with the professional Trinity Repertory Company theater. The program is now on pause, with neither the MFA acting nor the directing program accepting a 2024-25 class. (The program currently has second- and third-year classes.) Faculty are considering possibilities for the future, as well as pathways for revising the programs in “bold ways” that speak to the changing theater landscape and the arts infrastructure at Brown. “At this point, we are continuing to explore the possibilities for the future of the programs, and any decisions will come as the result of this robust, ongoing process,” says Curt Columbus, Brown/ Trinity Rep’s artistic director.

16. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

17. Columbia University

The school’s MFA acting degree is led by casting director James Calleri and actor Peter Jay Fernandez ( The Irishman ), and has the benefit of being located in New York, giving students proximity to the industry, while working entertainment players serve as adjunct faculty and guest lecturers. In the past year, Scott Whitehurst, formerly co-head of acting at The New School, joined Columbia as a full-time faculty member. Tuition is about $71,000 for the first two years, with most students receiving large scholarships to defray costs, and close to $6,000 for the third.

18. Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah, Georgia

SCAD has an on-site casting office, under the guidance of Mikie Heilbrun, formerly a head of casting for The CW/UPN, and a second, recently opened office in Atlanta, overseen by Alpha Tyler, former head of casting for Tyler Perry Studios. The offices connect students to film and television projects across the country including May December , Origin , The Color Purple and Fear the Walking Dead . The school, which also features an 11-acre backlot in Savannah, now offers a BFA degree in Atlanta, under the guidance of film and television veteran Craig Anton. Tuition for the upcoming academic year is $41,130.

19. Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House

20. baldwin wallace university.

Berea, Ohio

The conservatory musical theater program, led by Victoria Bussert, has seen most of its graduating seniors across the past 10 years sign with top representation after participating in the school’s New York showcase. Alumni include Colton Ryan, who received a Tony nomination for leading New York, New York on Broadway last year, in addition to many others who are now on Broadway or on tour. Tuition is around $40,000.

21. Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

With alumni including Kathryn Hahn, Greta Lee, Stephen Colbert, Broadway actor Brian d’Arcy James and director Michael Greif, the school offers a music theater certificate program, helmed by Broadway star KO, as well as a theater major. The two-year MFA program is housed mainly in a new theater space in nearby Chicago, which also welcomes visiting artists. Tuition for the upcoming academic year is $64,887.

22. Penn State University

State College, Pennsylvania

23. Syracuse University

Syracuse, New York

The school counts Aaron Sorkin and Vanessa Williams among the alumni of its program, which offers conservatory-style training within a major university and a partnership with the regional theater Syracuse Stage. The program also offers further connections with the possibility of an immersive semester in New York City, and has been expanding its offerings in acting for the camera and new media. Tuition for the upcoming year is just over $61,000.

24. Purchase College, SUNY

Purchase, New York

Stanley Tucci and Edie Falco graduated from this New York state school’s strong BFA program, which continues to train a number of successful graduates, including Abbott Elementary ‘s Chris Perfetti, The Summer I Turned Pretty ‘s Sean Kaufman and Succession ‘s Zoë Winters. Susan Shopmaker, a lecturer in acting and BAFTA award winner for casting The Holdovers , is one of the newer hires at the school, which offers conservatory-style training in close proximity to New York City. Tuition for out-of-state students last year was about $17,000, while in-state residents paid just above $7,000. (Those with family income under $125,000 can qualify for free tuition.)

25. Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas

June 25, 10 a.m. This story has been updated with corrected full-year tuition numbers for the University of Michigan.

This story first appeared in the June 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .

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Graduate Program in Ancient History   The Graduate Group in Ancient History is an interdisciplinary, cross-departmental program that encompasses the study of the ancient history of the Near East and the Mediterranean Basin, from the origins of civilization in the fertile river basins of the Tigris and the Euphrates to the rise of Islam and the emergence of the so-called barbarian successor kingdoms. Ancient History is a discipline that draws on literary, documentary, visual, archaeological, and environmental evidence, and employs a range of methodologies in combining these evidentiary categories to answer questions about the structures, processes, and thought-worlds of ancient societies.

Administratively, the Graduate Program in Ancient History is housed in the Department of Classical Studies. The department possesses its own colloquium series, which members of the group customarily attend. Faculty members of the Graduate Group in Ancient History come together from a range of Departments: Anthropology , Classical Studies , History of Art , Religious Studies , and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations .

The expertise and interests of members of the group are diverse and heterogeneous. What unites us is the enterprise of building historical narratives from the fragmentary and diffuse textual and material evidence available to us.

Students admitted to the Graduate Group in Ancient History will receive training in the political, intellectual, cultural, socio-economic, and religious history of at least two discrete ancient societies as part of their preparation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.   For more information on the Graduate Program in Ancient History, see here: https://anch.sas.upenn.edu

2024’s Top Film Schools in North America

Each year, Variety curates a list of the top film school programs across North America. From universities that are as old (or older) than the moving picture itself, to budding programs, the schools on this list collectively offer an impressive array of educators, facilities and lessons to be learned. Countless alumni from these programs have become legendary names in the industry. They have created award-winning films and television series, enacted change both on-screen and behind-the-scenes, and often give back to the institutions that fostered their talent.

Belmont University

Nashville, TN

Collaboration between departments is key to the success of Belmont’s students in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. “Our faculty are career industry professionals, who’ve worked in all forms, from indie features to the biggest studio productions,” Jay New, the school’s co-chair of motion pictures, production and screenwriting, tells Variety. He adds that students can pick up a camera on day one. “Our freshman students are required to start off with a course called cinematic storytelling, where they have a camera in hand,” he says. “They make four productions that semester. And then it just keeps going from there.” Besides state-of-the-art equipment and advantageous curriculum, students benefit from networking opportunities provided by dedicated staff. “We have students who have very seamlessly moved into the industry for internships and other opportunities in L.A. and New York, Atlanta — and obviously, Nashville as well,” says New.

Biola University

La Mirada, CA

Tucked in a suburb of Los Angeles, Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts offers students not only the technical skills to forge a successful career but also qualities such as teamwork, reliability and follow-through, says Dean Tom Halleen. “It’s an understanding that preparing students for the world of media in general isn’t just about having excellent technical skills.” The school features all the high-end equipment and instruction that students need to create films, and in 2026, it will open an expanded studio, growing Biola’s existing production facilities. “The building has been envisioned to accommodate the incredible rate of growth that we have,” says Halleen. “The idea behind the building is to house the full production workflow, from ideation to pre-production, production and post-production all the way through final presentation in our theater.” The school is also working in partnership with a “recently announced AI lab within our Crowell School of Business,” says Halleen.

Boston University

Boston University will renovate a second 2,500-square-foot production space this summer, which will operate in addition to the school’s current production studio. BU is also moving toward the use of LED to replace traditional lighting, which is more environmentally conscious and safer for students. “We are immensely proud of all aspects of our program, both in the classroom and beyond — the renaissance we are experiencing in curriculum growth and faculty expansion and the ongoing success of our students in the field,” says Paul Schneider, chair of the department of film and television. Current faculty members include cinematographer Tim Palmer (“Killing Eve,” “Bad Sisters”) and director and producer Amy Geller (“The Guys Next Door,” “The Rabbi Goes West”) among many other industry professionals.

California State University, Northridge

Northridge, CA

With a campus near studio lots, Cal State Northridge students are in the heart of the industry. The school has a strong documentary department and under new documentary head Judy Korin (“Adrift,” “The Great Hack”), student documentaries have garnered national attention with finalists for the Student Academy Awards and PBS Fine Cut Festival of Films. Dave Caplan (“The Connors”) is heading up a new CSUN Cinema and Television Arts mentorship program for six underserved screenwriting students that places them with working showrunners to develop their own TV scripts. Talicia Raggs (writer/producer on “NCIS: New Orleans”) and music producer/engineer/scoring mixer Michael Stern (“Iron Man 2”) are new faculty members.

Chapman University

The Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman is not only one of the most technically advanced institutions in the country — sporting multiple soundstages, editing and mixing suites plus an LED wall — it is also one of the most productive with 50 undergrad thesis films being produced this year. Yet, according to dean Stephen Galloway, what makes it truly unique is the community built between students during their four years. “We bake that in from day one. Students are working together, forming teams, not being dictatorial,” Galloway says. “We think of this as a village of filmmakers, where everybody knows each other and works together and builds those relationships that you take out into the industry.” 

Community College of Aurora

Formerly known as Colorado Film School, the Cinematic Arts department at the Community College of Aurora is expanding into virtual production, immersive entertainment and storytelling for video games. The average class size is around 13, and the curriculum is based on experiential learning, so students and the school have established educational partnerships with interactive game companies, national advertising agencies, production companies, and film festivals. The school offers six certificates and six three-year associate’s degrees so students can finish their program and enter the industry earlier than traditional programs. The price of the degree is also much less than most bachelor’s degree programs, allowing aspiring filmmakers to graduate without heavy debt.

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, IL

Undergraduate students can take advantage of the school’s Semester in L.A. program, which introduces students to people working in the entertainment industry and L.A. internship opportunities. “At Columbia College Chicago, we focus on bringing your vision to the screen, but also on developing close working relationships with people you trust. Our classes provide the skills needed to work in any aspect of the industry you are interested in, and our vibrant community helps you build creative partnerships that start at school but continue and grow as you enter the industry,” says Eric Scholl, interim co-chair of the cinema and television arts department.

Columbia University's School of the Arts

New York, NY

In the 2023-2024 school year, the film MFA program welcomed its first class to the new writing for film and television concentration, while undergrads can work on graduate films and take advantage of the Columbia Undergraduate Film Productions group. New faculty include veteran film and TV editor and producer Elizabeth Kling (“Practical Magic,” “Addicted to Love”). Notable faculty include James Schamus, Trey Ellis and Ira Deutchman. Columbia’s notable alumni includes writer/actress Grace Edwards (“Insecure”) and helmer Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Hurt Locker”), offering plentiful networking opportunities for graduates.

Emerson College

Within the Visual and Media Arts department, Emerson promises a hands-on education in filmmaking. Students can select a production track or media studies track, with courses ranging from writing the feature film to computer animation to media criticism and theory. Students can take advantage of the school’s directing studio located on campus at the Paramount Center, or partake in the school’s Los Angeles internship program. VMA chair Shaun Clarke says, “The Visual and Media Arts department fosters the development and creative passions of our students in ways true to themselves and uniquely Emersonian: in the classroom with highly skilled faculty and inspired peers, using state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and in the world alongside groundbreaking alumni impacting the future of film.”

Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema

Brooklyn, NY

For a top film school, Feirstein is famously more affordable than many others with tuition at $21,000. The school is also developing new curriculum, which is more focused on the overall multifaceted filmmaker, rather than specific tracks. Students benefit from an impressive faculty including the school of cinema’s executive director Richard N. Gladstein, who frequently leads master classes and lectures about film producing and the entertainment industry, and new instructors such as producer Anne Carey (“The Persian Version,” “Lost Girls”) and helmer/writer Anthony Drazen (“The West Wing”). The school also recently had masterclasses taught by John Turturro, Steven Soderbergh and Janusz Kaminski. Feirstein boasts a powerhouse advisory council that includes Ethan Hawke, Darren Aronofsky, Bruce Cohen, Stephen Daldry, Randall Poster, John Turturro, Talitha Watkins, Vicki Thomas and Doug Steiner.

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

The College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University is all about putting students first with a 5-1 student-to-faculty ratio, 24-7 facility hours, plus funding virtually all student laboratory, workshops and thesis project production expenses at the graduate and undergraduate level. An impressive 96% of graduates find work in the industry after one year. FSU is also home to the Torchlight Center for Motion Picture Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is an off-campus cinematheque and virtual production studio available to all film students. Just last year, the college was named number four among all public film schools in the nation. 

Hofstra University

Hempstead, NY

This year, Hofstra’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication added a BS in sports media and continues to offer BFAs in filmmaking and writing for the screen, as well as a BA in film productions and studies and another BS in television and film. Students in these programs can begin making their films their first year with access to three soundstages and a post-production facility that includes an editing classroom, screening room and color correction suite. Faculty include cinematographer Sekiya Dorsett (“In Our Mother’s Gardens”), helmer Kelcey Edwards (“The Art of Making It”) and cinematographer Mark Raker (“Five Questions”).

Ithaca College

In 2023, Ithaca’s Roy H. Park School of Communications established a special opportunities fund for students to access hands-on opportunities related to their career paths. Additionally, the James B. Pendleton Endowment gives more than $800,000 every year to the Park school, funding the Los Angeles program, annual technology upgrades, two endowed professorships, $125,000 in student scholarship awards and close to $75,000 for student, faculty and staff projects. Park also boasts an immersive volume stage known as the Cube, which lets students make use of 3D visual effects via Unreal Engine. Dean Amy Falkner says, “Recruiters often remark at how industry-ready Park students are when they enter the workforce. We owe that to our Tech Ops team who keep the broadcast studios, soundstages, virtual production studios, LED walls and post-production suites on the cutting edge of industry-grade equipment and software. The faculty incorporate all this tech in their teaching, and it takes our students to the highest level.”

Loyola Marymount

Los Angeles, CA

In the fall, LMU will introduce Masters in Entertainment Leadership and Management (MELM), a collaboration between LMU SFTV and LMU College of Business Administration. This program will be taught by industry leaders including Janet Yang, SFTV presidential fellow and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Unique programs for LMU include its Hollywood Bootcamp, recently led by WME agent Krista Parkinson, which provides career training via access to leading executives and companies. LMU also often brings distinguished speakers to campus such as Damon Lindelof, S.S. Rajamouli, Vince Gilligan, Lauren Neustadter and Terilyn Shropshire. “We have a unique ability to provide not only an exceptional education within the classroom but also the in-person industry access and connections required to launch and sustain a successful entertainment career. Thanks to our award-winning faculty, our two campuses located in the heart of the industry (Los Angeles and Silicon Beach), and programs like Hollywood Bootcamp and our Distinguished Artist in Residence, we give aspiring filmmakers a pragmatic, real-world education to set them up for success,” says Joanne Moore, dean of the School of Film and Television.

New York Film Academy

The New York Film Academy is one of the most expansive film schools in the nation, with eight global locations and three undergraduate degree programs encapsulating over 15 areas of study. With an emphasis on a hands-on approach to filmmaking, students get access to top-of-the-line gear and facilities, personal mentoring from industry veterans, travel courses for up to eight weeks and opportunities to train in formats such as 35mm and 16mm film. NYFA has no shortage of famous alumni including Bill Hader, Issa Rae, Aubrey Plaza, Shivani Rawat, Masali Baduza and Lisa Cortés.

Northwestern

Evanston, IL

This year, Northwestern’s department of radio/television/film took students to Sundance to experience the festival and network with alumni. “Our alumni networks are our biggest asset,” says Kerry Trotter, communications director at the school. “There is a very strong, short tether between L.A. and Evanston, and alumni in the industry are often cultivating opportunities for NU students.” Additionally, each spring break the program takes a group of RTVF and communication studies students to London for site visits and networking opportunities. As part of the school’s mission to elevate entertainment education for its student body, it will offer a new minor next academic year: game design, media arts and animation. 

New Brunswick, NJ

Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts offers a myriad of programs and facilities, including the Documentary Film Lab, which allows students to work on full-length documentaries with faculty. Associate professor and chair of the Rutgers Filmmaking Center, Patrick Stettner, says of the department’s mission, “Our priority is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of different modes of storytelling and filmmaking techniques. We recently launched a new course, AI in New Technology Filmmaking, which helps students navigate the next great tech revolution in cinema.” Mason Gross also boasts a new VR studio lab which offers students the opportunity to gain experience with virtual reality filmmaking.

Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah, GA

With one of the largest university film studio complexes in the nation, SCAD continues to expand. New additions will include a 17,000-square-foot support building for production classrooms, costume labs, costume studio shop and a scenic production wood/machine shop. Students recently worked on a comedy series and two short films on location at SCAD’s Lacoste, France campus. Film and television coursework is supported by events with industry guests throughout the academic year, such as Kevin Bacon, Eva Longoria, Ava DuVernay and George Lopez. The school boasts a well-connected faculty, including Andra Reeve-Rabb, dean of the school of film and acting and director of SCAD’s casting office, who is the former director of casting at CBS Primetime, New York.

Scottsdale Community College

Scottsdale, AZ

Offering efficient two-year degree programs that prepare students to enter the entertainment industry is just one advantage of the Scottsdale School of Film and Theatre at Scottsdale Community College. The school’s curriculum is looking ahead to what film and theater professionals will need in the coming decade, and as such, updating courses to prepare students to work in both filmed productions and live events. Scottsdale’s TV/New Media studio is also in the early stages of a $250,000 update, focused on creating a space that features current equipment and tech students will likely use post-graduation. 

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY

Syracuse’s Visual and Performing Arts film program focuses on hands-on education, the film production process and cross-training across film disciplines for its students. BFA and MFA degrees in film are offered through the VPA program, and BS and MA degrees in television, radio and film are offered through the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The VPA program also hosts study opportunities in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. “The brand of Newhouse graduates is less about making film as we know it, rather their capacity to invent the next generation of film,” says Michael Schoonmaker, professor and chair of the television, radio and film department at the communications school.  

The Los Angeles Film School

Centrally located in Hollywood and just a stone’s throw from nearby studio lots, the Los Angeles Film School offers bachelor’s and associate degrees in entertainment fields, with its film degree allowing students to pursue concentrations in production, directing or cinematography. In addition to adding an animation/VFX program that shares classes with the film program, the school recently redesigned its TechKit — which includes state-of-the-art software and hardware designed to make it possible for the student to start making films immediately — for the animation program. Famous alums include sound designer Phillip Bladh, who won an Oscar for sound for “The Sound of Metal,” video director Hannah Lux Davis, known for collaborating with Ariana Grande, Halsey and Demi Lovato, and helmer/writer/producer Kyle Newacheck, whose work has appeared on “Workaholics,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Community.”

U. of Texas at Austin - Moody College

Within the Moody College of Communication, the department of radio-television-film boasts a motion capture studio, 70×20 foot green screen and podcast suites, as well as noteworthy alums including Matthew McConaughey and Robert Rodriguez. The school has begun a curriculum overhaul to its B.S., MFA and M.A. programs, and is currently refreshing all film equipment, including cameras, lenses, audio equipment and computers. For aspiring young filmmakers, the school even offers a summer camp led by advanced graduate students, professors and media professionals.

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Winston-Salem, NC

Now celebrating the school’s 30th anniversary, the Fighting Pickles are formally launching the Story Art Studio in 2024 as an incubator that merges the unique voice and history of the region with both classical and cutting-edge storytelling tools across the disciplines of dance, music, drama and more. The program not only encapsulates the breadth of UNCSA’s curriculum but joins with its Dean’s Advisory Council, comprising of prominent industry leaders, to create post-graduate pathways into the industry. “It’s a gift to have the focus that [students] have here without the distractions of wonderful cities like Los Angeles and New York present,” says dean Deborah LaVine. “Here, the only person they’re competing with is themselves.”

Vancouver Film School

Vancouver, B.C.

Through its school of film & television, school of animation and school of games & creative design, VFS offers an immersive curriculum across 15 programs. Students are trained by industry professionals and have access to eight world-class production centers that feature a 64,000 cubic-feet of performance and motion capture volume, a 180-degree greenscreen room, mixing labs and recording studios, film sets and studios. VFS has been ranked as the top game design school in Canada, and the second-top game design school worldwide. In the 2024 awards season, over 12,000 VFS alumni were credited on nominated and winning projects spanning the Game Awards, Golden Globes, Emmys and the Academy Awards.

Wesleyan University

Middletown, CT

The College of Film and the Moving Image at Wesleyan University seeks to blend history, analysis and production in a liberal arts context. The school recently piloted a one-week immersive summer externship program in Los Angeles, which introduces students from underrepresented groups to the entertainment industry. Two first-generation college students spent a week meeting with prominent alumni like Jenno Topping, Tony Ducret and David Stone. “While we teach skills such as analytical and creative writing, producing, shooting and editing, our goals are broader,” says Scott Higgins, director of the College of Film and the Moving Image. “We aim to help undergraduates discover their goals and to develop their creative and critical voices in a collaborative community founded on a passionate commitment to the moving image.” 

Film School Titans

USC, UCLA, Cal Arts, Tisch, AFI

Across the film school landscape, there are many notable programs but five in particular stand apart because of their impressive curriculum, notable alumni and overall influence: the American Film Institute, California Institute of the Arts, the Kanbar School of Film and Television at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

AFI is noted for its remarkable instructors such as cinematography head Stephen Lighthill and producing head Lianne Halfon. Fellows are guaranteed to make films and the school has partnered to help create the Disney/AFI Underrepresented Storytellers Initiative to help create a pathway that removes economic barriers for emerging filmmakers.

Ask many any animation luminary where they went to school, and you’ll likely hear the name CalArts. Notable alumni include Tim Burton, Brad Bird and Pete Docter, whose films have won multiple Academy Awards. Students can choose from 70 comprehensive degree programs.

The Kanbar Institute within Tisch claims Martin Scorsese as a production alum. Several years ago, the school received the largest grant in its history from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation to establish the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts, which includes a virtual production center and cinematic studies.

As a public university, UCLA offers a world-class film school education at a price that won’t saddle a student with heavy costs. Among ambitious offerings at UCLA’s school of theater, film and television is a recently announced extended reality and artificial intelligence research studio at the school’s downtown campus. Faculty includes many noted working pros who cover every aspect of filmmaking such as costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis. Screenwriter David Koepp (“Jurassic Park,” “War of the Worlds”) and Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”) are among the school’s many notable alums.

The USC School of Cinematic Arts offers a unique interdisciplinary curriculum, in which students take courses from the full spectrum of the SCA’s offerings — prospective writers take courses in directing, directors take courses in interactive media. Helmer Ryan Coogler and writer-producer Shonda Rhimes are just a few of SCA’s highly successful alums. The school receives tremendous support from the creative community. In 2006, filmmaker and alumnus George Lucas made the largest single donation in USC history by giving the film school $175 million.

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Andy & Barbara Gessner College of Nursing

SOLVING THE NURSING SHORTAGE

The Andy & Barbara Gessner College of Nursing is committed to serving educational needs, supporting lifelong learning and advancing excellence in regional and global healthcare.

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Our graduate programs offer advanced education and specialized training for aspiring nursing leaders and practitioners with a focus on innovation, research, and clinical expertise.

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Our Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is designed for nurses seeking to advance their clinical expertise and leadership skills. Through a blend of rigorous coursework, hands-on practicum experiences, and faculty mentorship, our DNP program prepares nurses to lead in the complex healthcare landscape.

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By now you’ve started the road to The New You 2023 with great enthusiasm, and kudos if you’re still on the journey. But for many of us, mid-January brings a realization that the New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, go veggie, quit smoking, quit swearing, fill in your resolution here, may not be as easy as it seemed in December.

Texas Children’s CNO Urges New Grads to Prioritize Self-Care, Change Health Care

Hundreds crowded the Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston for the Fall 2022 Commencement Ceremony and Pinning for the UH College of Nursing.

Examining Moral Courage in the Operating Room

Danielle Quintana, certified perioperative nurse and assistant clinical professor at the University of Houston College of Nursing, has conducted the first concept analysis on surgical conscience among perioperative nurses, those charged with overseeing surgical safety and sterile fields, or asepsis (the absence of bacteria, viruses and other organisms), inside hospital operating rooms.

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The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master’s degree program in nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Houston are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. CCNE accreditation ensures that the college's nursing programs meet or exceed established standards of quality and excellence in nursing education.

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Art & Exhibitions

Sonia delaunay was more than a painter. a new show celebrates her versatility across mediums.

The pioneering artist and fashion designer steps out of her husband's shadow.

Fashion. Textiles. Interior design. Printmaking. Mosaics. Painting. Sonia Delaunay did it all. An artist and entrepreneur born in 1885, she defied the expectations of her era to enjoy forge a successful 70-year career fueled by her bold, colorful abstractions.

“For Sonia, there was no distinction between the fine and the decorative, and I think that opened up huge possibilities for her,” Laura Microulis, the research curator at New York’s Bard Graduate Center, told me. “This almost insatiable quest to create kind of propelled her throughout her whole life.”

Today best known as one half of a duo with her husband, Robert Delaunay , the artist stands firmly on her own in “ Sonia Delaunay: Living Art ,” her solo show on view through this weekend at Bard’s Upper West Side galleries.

“For me, Sonia’s work represents just kind of pure joy,” Microulis, who co-curated the exhibition with Waleria Dorogova, said.

Sonia Delaunay, Mosaïque horizontale , executed by Maximilien Herzèle (1954), on view with works on paper by the artist in “Sonia Delaunay: Living Art” at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery. Photo by Da Ping Luo.

The Bard museum, with its focus on decorative arts and design, took a different approach to Delaunay’s work than previous exhibitions, focusing less on her virtuosic sense of color and form, and more on the diversity of her practice and breadth of her artistic output.

Born in the Russian empire, in what is present-day Ukraine, Delaunay left home at 18 to study art in Germany, before moving to Paris.

There, in 1907, she exhibited alongside the likes of Georges Braque , André Derain , and Pablo Picasso in her first art show. (She briefly married the dealer, Wilhelm Uhde, in a mutually beneficial arrangement that allowed her to rebuff her family’s desire that she move home to Russia, and helped disguise his homosexuality.)

In 1909, Delaunay met Robert. They were married by November 1910, and had a son, Charles, in January 1911.

Installation view of “Sonia Delaunay: Living Art” on view at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery with Robert Delaunay’s painting Madame Heim (1926–27) and felted wool cloche and matching silk scarf by Sonia Delaunay. Photo ©Bruce M. White.

The birth inspired Delaunay’s first experiments with non-figurative art, when she made Charles a baby blanket with scraps of fabric, in the style of Ukrainian peasants. Struck by the almost Cubist effect of the color composition, she and Robert began experimenting with abstraction.

The blanket isn’t on view, but the show opens with Delaunay’s “Simultaneous dress” or “Robe simultanée,” a patchwork 1913 gown that Microulis described as “the star object of the exhibition,” on view in the U.S. for the first time ever.

“The dress is super special. Sonia made it to promote what she was doing in terms of her painting at the time,” she said. “It’s basically an abstract painting that she wears.”

Sonia Delaunay, Robe simultanée (1913), on view with works on paper by the artist in “Sonia Delaunay: Living Art” at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery. Photo by Da Ping Luo.

The dress was designed to illustrate the couple’s new concept of Simultanism, or Simultané, which is based on the visual relationship colors have to one another viewed side by side. (The couple would trademark the term in 1925.)

“It’s really the idea that colors, when they’re surrounded by other colors, look different,” Microulis said. “Simultaneous contrasts actually produces an optical effect whereby the colors [seem to] vibrate. And there’s a rhythmic sort of dynamism that is produced as your eye goes across the canvas.”

This concept became the guiding force for Delaunay across mediums, applied to furniture, clothing, accessories, and bookmaking, and even to playing cards and automobiles. The Delaunays designed sets and costumes for ballets and she opened her first fashion and interior design business, Casa Sonia, in Madrid in 1918.

Installation view of “Sonia Delaunay: Living Art” on view at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery. Photo ©Bruce M. White.

Putting together the exhibition was something of a challenge. Many key examples of Delaunay’s work were recently on loan for her 2022 show at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art outside Copenhagen, and are too delicate to be displayed regularly.

But that gave Bard the opportunity to delve deeper into her oeuvre, showcasing lesser-known aspects of Delaunay’s career, such as the tapestries she made for the French state in the mid-1970s, just a few years before her death.

The sheer range of projects on view in the exhibition is nothing short of remarkable, painting Delaunay as an ahead-of-her-time multi-hyphenate. (When I told Microulis I thought she would be an influencer if she alive today, she said I wasn’t the first to jump to that conclusion.)

“Sonia had these very elaborate photo shoots with prominent photographers where she would dress in her clothing. All of those images would be sent out to to various press outlets,” Microulis said. “She was like her own press office.”

Sonia Delaunay in her studio at Boulevard Malesherbes (ca. 1925). Photo courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Robert died of cancer in 1941 at the age of 56, while Delaunay lived until 1979, age 94. She became the first living woman artist to have a solo show at the Louvre, in 1964, and remained remarkably productive even into her final years.

And Delaunay was mindful of her own legacy, compiling and exhaustive personal archive of letters, journals, and other materials documenting her remarkable life and many artistic accomplishments. A tireless self-promoter, Delaunay arranged to donate a large collection of her fabric samples and color cards—a selection of which are on view at Bard—to the Textile Arts Museum in Lyon, France.

“Sonia very deliberately wanted her textiles to become a part of the history of luxury silk production in Lyon,” Microulis said. “Given the strategic donations she made to French institutions later in her life, I think she knew on some level that her work and the work of her husband were going to be an important part of the history of art.”

“Sonia Delaunay: Living Art” is on view at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 18 West 86th Street, New York, New York, February 23–July 7, 2024.

Sarah Cascone

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